Impact of exogenously applied plant growth regulators on yield attributes and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. Hybrid Complex)

Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences
ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 7 Number 09 (2018)
Journal homepage:

Original Research Article

/>
Impact of Exogenously Applied Plant Growth Regulators on Yield
Attributes and Yield of Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. Hybrid Complex)
Bharati Upadhaya1*, Navnit Kumar2, Randhir Kumar1 and Kaushal Kishor1
1

Department of Agronomy, 2Department of Agronomy, Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr.
Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa, Samastipur, Bihar, India
*Corresponding author

ABSTRACT

Keywords
Sugarcane, Ethrel,
Gibberellic acid,
Yield attributes,
Yield

Article Info
Accepted:
08 August 2018
Available Online:
10 September 2018

A field experiment was conducted during the spring season of 2017 at Research farm of
Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Pusa
(Samastipur), Bihar to study the “Impact of exogenously applied plant growth regulators
on yield attributes and yield of sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid complex)”. The
experiment was laid out in randomized block design and replicated thrice. The treatment
comprised of ten treatments viz., conventional planting/farmers practice (T 1), planting of
setts after overnight soaking in water (T 2), planting of setts after overnight soaking in cattle
dung, cattle urine and water slurry in 1: 2: 5 ratios (T 3), planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution (T 4), planting of setts after overnight soaking in 100 ppm
ethrel solution (T5), T1 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150 DAP (T6), T2 + GA3
spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150 DAP (T7), T3 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and
150 DAP (T8), T4 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150 DAP (T9) and T5 + GA3
spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150 DAP (T10). Planting of setts after overnight soaking in
50 ppm ethrel solution followed by foliar spray of GA3 @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150 DAP
showed significantly higher cane and sugar yield as compared to rest of the treatments
which was due to improvement in yield attributes like number of tillers, number of
millable canes, internodal length, number of nodes/cane, cane diameter, single cane weight
and cane: top ratio.

Introduction
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid complex)
is a tropical, perennial grass that forms lateral
shoots at the base to produce multiple stems,
typically three to four metre high and about
5 centimetre in diameter. The stems grow into
cane stalk, which when mature constitutes
around 75% of the entire plant. All sugarcane

species interbreed and the major commercial

cultivars are complex hybrids. Sugarcane
belongs to the grass family Gramineae, an
economically important seed plant family that
includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum, and
many forage crops. Sugarcane farming is
mainly done for the sugar production.
However, apart from producing sugar, this
crop is also used for manufacturing numbers

1013


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

of by-products from it. On worldwide basis,
sugarcane is cultivated in more than 100
countries, producing 178 million tonnes of
sugar, nearly 80% of which is contributed by
cane sugar. In India, it occupies about 2.53%
(4.9 million ha) of the gross cropped area of
the country with an annual production of
303.6 million tonnes. In Bihar, it occupies an
area of 0.3 million ha with the production of
14.7 million tonnes (ISMA, 2017). India is the
second largest producer after Brazil producing
nearly 15 and 25% of global sugar and
sugarcane, respectively. In India, sugarcane is
cultivated in tropical zone and sub-tropical
zone.
Sub-tropical zone comprising of 60% of total

cane acreage contributes only 48% of total
cane and 37% to total white sugar production
in the country. The productivity of sugarcane
in sub-tropical states like Bihar is far below
(50.0 t/ha) as compared to tropical states i.e.
Tamil Nadu (88.0 t/ha). Extremes of climate
and use of sub-optimal agro-technologies are
the main characteristics which lead to lower
sugarcane productivity in sub-tropical India.
In sub-tropical India, 60-70% of millable
canes are comprised of tillers, whereas in
tropical regions only 20-30% of millable canes
are formed from tillers. Though, higher
sugarcane yield can be achieved by increasing
the number of mother shoots instead of tillers
(Chand et al., 2011) and higher mother shoots
can be achievable by rate and speed of
germination of planted setts, which is largely
dictated by initial soil moisture content. To
improve the sugarcane productivity, it is
necessary to enhance the yield attributing
characters like cane length, cane girth, single
cane weight, number of tillers and millable
canes. In this direction, plant growth
regulators like ethrel and gibberellic acid have
been found useful to reduce these constraints
and thus have been effective in improving
productivity in sugarcane. Therefore, to
investigate the combined effects of ethrel and

gibberellic acid on yield attributing characters
and yield of sugarcane, the present experiment
was aimed.
Materials and Methods
The field study was conducted during the
spring season of 2017 at Research farm of
Sugarcane Research Institute, Dr. Rajendra
Prasad Central Agricultural University, Bihar
which falls in sub-humid and sub-tropical
climate with moderate rainfall. Total rainfall
during the period of investigation was 1,134.6
mm. The soil of the experimental plot was low
in organic carbon (0.41%), low in available
nitrogen (220 kg/ha) and medium in
phosphorus (28.3 kg/ha) and potassium
content (141.5 kg/ha). The experiment was
laid out in randomized block design,
comprising ten treatments, viz., conventional
planting/farmers practice (T1), planting of setts
after overnight soaking in water (T2), planting
of setts after overnight soaking in cattle dung,
cattle urine and water slurry in 1: 2: 5 ratios
(T3), planting of setts after overnight soaking
in 50 ppm ethrel solution (T4), planting of
setts after overnight soaking in 100 ppm ethrel
solution (T5), T1 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90,
120 & 150 DAP (T6), T2 + GA3 spray @ 35
ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP (T7), T3 + GA3
spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP (T8),
T4 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150

DAP (T9) and T5 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at
90, 120 & 150 DAP (T10). Setts of variety „BO
153‟ were used as planting material. Ridges
and furrows were laid out at 90 cm spacing
with Bihar senior ridger. The opened furrows
were treated with Thimet 10 G to control
insects-pests.
In case of plant population count, total number
of plants (mother shoots + tillers) were
recorded from 60 days after planting to 120
days after planting and number of millable
canes (NMC) at the time of harvesting from
net plot area of each plot and expressed as

1014


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

thousands per hectare and expressed in
thousands per hectare.
The length of internode was computed by the
formula:Internodal

length

(cm)

=

The commercial cane sugar per cent was
calculated with the help of brix and pol
readings recorded in laboratory on the basis of
the formula as described by Parthasarthy
(1979).
CCS % = [S-0.4 (B-S)] × 0.73
Where,
S = Sucrose per cent in juice
B = Brix per cent in juice
Cane yield was recorded with the help of
spring balance from net plot area of each plot
and converted into tonnes per hectare.
In order to obtained commercial cane sugar
yield, the commercial cane sugar per cent was
multiplied with cane yield (tonnes/ha).
CCS

(t/ha)

=

number of tillers viz., 142.6, 210.6 and 229.7 ×
103/ha at 60, 90 and 120 DAP, respectively. It
might be due to ethrel treatment that
strengthen the root activity and effectively
utilized the nitrate- nitrogen for proper tiller
growth. Higher tiller production due to ethrel
treatment has also been reported by several
workers (Li and Solomon, 2003). It also might
be attributed that phasic application of

gibberellic acid led to an increase in tiilers
number against control, due to a significant
decrease in shoot mortality. Jain et al., (2011)
also reported that ethrel treatment increases
tiller formation under field condition; increase
was about 9.7-18.6% in spring planting and
9.7-58.5% in late planting conditions over
control.
The data presented in Table 1 revealed that
planting of setts after overnight soaking in 50
ppm ethrel solution followed by foliar spray of
GA3 @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP (T9)
recorded significantly higher number of
millable canes (153.1×103/ha) at harvest over
rest of the treatments. The higher number of
millable canes in the corresponding treatments
might be attributed to higher number of tiller
production. Early and higher emergence due
to setts treatment with ethrel solution and
better photosynthetic efficiency due to foliar
application of gibberellic acid resulted in the
production of higher number of tillers and
their subsequent conversion to millable canes.
Similar result has also been reported by
Kumar (2016).

Results and Discussion
Yield attributing characters
Number of tillers per hectare was counted at
different growth stages starting from 60 DAP

to 120 DAP. The data presented in Table 1
revealed that planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution followed by
foliar spray of GA3 @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP (T9) recorded significantly higher

The results on yield attributing characters of
sugarcane are shown in Table 2. No
significant effect of different treatments was
observed on cane diameter. However, the
maximum cane diameter was recorded in
conventional planting (2.21 cm). Of the
different treatments, number of nodes/cane
was registered maximum under conventional
planting and planting of setts after overnight
soaking in water (26 nodes/cane) but did not

1015


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

affect the number of nodes significantly. The
length of internode was significantly higher
(13.4 cm) in planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution followed by
foliar spray of GA3 @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP (T9) over rest of the treatments
except in treatment T7, T8 and T10 where it
was on par with T9. It might be due to increase

in the length of the stalk. Foliar application of
GA3 increased the leaf area index enhancing
the photosynthetic activity and assimilates
production in the leaves which later on
translocated into internodes, thus increased
internodal elongation and also internodal
numbers as reported by Rai et al., (2017). As a
result, the number of nodes/cane is minimum

in this treatment. Pribil et al., (2007) also
found that external application of GA3
remarkably increased internodal length in
sugarcane. Single cane weight did not
produced significant impact on single cane
weight, though maximum was recorded in
treatment T8 (684.0 g/plant) and the minimum
was recorded under conventional planting
(615.0 g/plant). Like single cane weight,
different treatments failed to have any
significant influence on cane: top ratio.
However, maximum cane: top ratio (4.0) was
recorded in planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution followed by
GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 and 150
DAP.

Table.1 Plant population (x 103/ha) of sugarcane as affected by different treatments
Treatment
Conventional planting/farmers practice
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in

water
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in
cattle dung, cattle urine and water slurry
in 1: 2: 5 ratios
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in
50 ppm ethrel solution
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in
100 ppm ethrel solution
T1 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP
T2 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP
T3 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP
T4 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP
T5 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 &
150 DAP
SEm (±)
CD (P=0.05)
Mean

1016

60 DAP
87.3
90.0

90 DAP
141.1

147.0

120 DAP
151.6
158.6

94.2

175.2

187.0

137.1

201.7

218.4

131.0

199.3

214.9

93.7

160.2

171.6

101.0

165.1

176.7

103.4

180.0

196.5

142.6

210.6

229.7

135.0

205.5

224.8

6.30
18.7
111.5

10.2
29.7

178.6

10.5
31.1
193.0


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

Table.2 Cane diameter, number of nodes/cane, length of internode, cane: top ratio, number of
millable canes and single cane weight as affected by different treatments
Treatment

Cane
diameter (cm)

Number of
nodes/cane

Length of
internode
(cm)

Cane:
top
ratio

Single cane
weight
(g/plant)

3.1

Number of
millable
canes
(x 103/ha)
117.1

Conventional planting/farmers
practice
Planting of setts after overnight
soaking in water
Planting of setts after overnight
soaking in cattle dung, cattle urine
and water slurry in 1: 2: 5 ratios
Planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution
Planting of setts after overnight
soaking in 100 ppm ethrel solution
T1 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
& 150 DAP
T2 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
& 150 DAP
T3 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
& 150 DAP
T4 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
& 150 DAP
T5 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
& 150 DAP

SEm (±)
CD (P=0.05)
Mean

2.21

26

8.9

2.17

26

9.3

3.2

122.0

657.0

2.10

25

9.8

3.4

129.0

659.0

2.01

24

10.7

3.7

148.6

663.0

2.02

25

10.0

3.6

146.2

660.0

2.16

24

11.2

3.3

123.3

645.0

2.15

24

11.6

3.4

126.2

682.0

2.08

23

12.6

3.5

135.5

684.0

1.98

22

13.4

4.0

153.1

675.0

1.98

23

12.6

3.8

150.5

670.0

0.106
NS

2.09

1.57
NS
24

0.71
2.1
10.9

0.20
NS
3.5

7.15
21.3
135.2

42.90
NS
66.1

615.0

Table.3 Cane yield and sugar yield as affected due to different treatments
Treatment

Cane yield (t/ha)

Conventional planting/farmers practice

Planting of setts after overnight soaking in water
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in cattle dung, cattle urine
and water slurry in 1: 2: 5 ratios
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution
Planting of setts after overnight soaking in 100 ppm ethrel solution
T1 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP
T2 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP
T3 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP
T4 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP
T5 + GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120 & 150 DAP
SEm (±)
CD (P=0.05)
Mean

71.4
78.9
81.5

Sugar yield
(t/ha)
8.55
9.33
9.58

96.3
94.5
77.6
83.5
87.2
101.8

98.7
5.08
15.1
87.1

11.70
11.47
9.23
9.84
10.29
12.40
11.93
0.58
1.7
10.43

1017


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

Cane and sugar yield
Mean data showed that different treatments
brought significant variation variation in cane
and sugar yield in compared to conventional
planting (Table 3). Planting of setts after
overnight soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution
followed by GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
and 150 DAP (T9) resulted in highest cane
yield (101.8 t/ha). However, it remained

statistically at par with treatment T4, T5, T8
and T10 and all of them significantly out
yielded T1, T2, T3, T6 and T7. It might be due
to higher number of millable canes, cane
length, length of internode as well as cane
weight. Raji et al., (1999) also reported that
high leaf area index and vast canopy at the
initial growth stages improved cane yield.
Similar report was also obtained by Kumar
(2016).
Maximum sugar yield (12.40 t/ha) was
recorded under planting of setts after
overnight soaking in 50 ppm ethrel solution
followed by GA3 spray @ 35 ppm at 90, 120
and 150 DAP (T9) which was closely
followed by T4, T5, T8 and T10. This might be
due to the fact that the significant effect on
sugar yield was solely due to cane yield on
which the effect of different treatments was
significant. Xing et al., (2002) also
demonstrated that ethrel promoted the
differentiation and stimulated the plant
growth and finally resulted in higher cane
yield and thus the sugar yield.
References
Chand, M., Khippal, A., Singh, S., Lal, R. and
Singh, R. 2011. Effect of planting
material and seed rate in pit planted
sugarcane (Saccharum spp. hybrid
complex) in sub-tropical India. Indian

Journal of Agronomy 56(1): 78–82.
ISMA. 2017. Indian Sugar Mills Association.
Indian Sugar 68(9): 70–74.

Jain, R., Solomon, S. and Chandra, A. 2011.
Some discernible physio-biochemical
changes associated with improved
sprouting of sugarcane setts treated with
ethrel. Sugar Tech 13(2): 123–128.
Kumar, N. 2016. Use of plant growth
regulators for enhanced growth and
yield of sugarcane (Saccharum species
hybrid
complex).
In:
Extended
Summaries,
Fourth
International
Agronomy Congress on Agronomy for
Sustainable Management of Natural
Resources, Environment, Energy and
Livelihood Security to Achieve Zero
Hunger Challenge, 22-26 November,
2016, Indian Society of Agronomy,
New Delhi, India. pp. 1310–1312.
Li, Y.R. and Solomon, S. 2003. Ethrel: A
versatile
growth
regulator

for
sugarcane industry. Sugar Tech 5(4):
213–223.
Parthasarthy, S.V. 1979. Sugarcane in India.
634–653 pp. K.C.P. Ltd., Madras.
Pribil, M., Hermann, S.R., Dun, G.D., Karno,
X.X., Ngo,
C., O'Neill,
S., Wang,
L., Bonnett,
G.D., Chandler,
P.M., Beveridge,
C.A. and Lakshmanan,
P. 2007.
Altering sugarcane shoot architecture
through genetic engineering: prospects
for increasing cane and sugar yield.
In: Proceedings of the 2007 Conference
of the Australian Society of Sugar Cane
Technologists,
8-11 May,
2007,
Australian Society of Sugar Cane
Technologists, Cairns, Queensland,
Australia, pp. 251–257.
Rai, R.K., Tripathi, N., Gautam, D. and
Singh, P. 2017. Exogenous application
of ethrel and gibberellic acid stimulates
physiological growth of late planted
sugarcane with short growth period

in sub-tropical India. Journal of Plant
Growth Regulation 36: 472–486.
Raji, I.Y, Siemens, J.C. and Bullock, D.G.
1999. Growth analysis of soybean

1018


Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci (2018) 7(9): 1013-1019

under no-tillage and conventional
tillage systems. Agronomy Journal 91:
928–933.
Xing, Y.X., Yang, L.T. and Li, Y.R. 2002.
Effect of ethrel on respiratory exchange

in different sugarcane varieties.
Chinese Journal of Tropical Crops
23(3): 66–72.

How to cite this article:
Bharati Upadhaya, Navnit Kumar, Randhir Kumar and Kaushal Kishor. 2018. Impact of
Exogenously Applied Plant Growth Regulators on Yield Attributes and Yield of Sugarcane
(Saccharum spp. Hybrid Complex). Int.J.Curr.Microbiol.App.Sci. 7(09): 1013-1019.
doi: />
1019